Sunday 7 July 2013

Crafty In Cornwall

In my opinion, Cornwall is the best place to stay in Britain. During my very recent trip there, I visited a little harbour village called Charlestown. Throughout my two week holiday, I paid Charlestown three visits and have become very fond of the traditional, historical and overall friendly village. 


One place within Charlestown that particularly interested me was the Charlestown Gallery - The Don Austen Studio. If any of you take a trip to Cornwall, I would highly recommend having a gander around this shop. 


Here I met the lovely Gemma Austen, who runs the shop and also sells her own artwork there (which I loved!). I really enjoyed looking around the studio as there were so many beautiful, hand-crafted items and home wares to ponder over (which admittedly made it very difficult to keep my pennies in my pocket!).
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It is the sweet little touches like this sign on the entrance door that add a certain charm to the studio.







As you enter the shop, to the left is a display of various items created from driftwood. Alongside the boat models and the storage boxes (shown in the photos), there are sconces, tea light holders and lamps available. They have been made by Duchy Driftwood and have a wonderful rustic charm about them. I was immediately drawn to the handmade boxes. I love the whitewash, the rope-and-peg catch, and especially the cluster of stones in the top - which I found added a touch of originality. 
The driftwood box was my first purchase as I just couldn't help myself! I have since found out that it was crafted by Jason Webb.



Gemma stocks a lot of her own handmade and hand drawn items. The drawings and images are so quirky and fun to look at. There is something quite child-like about them, which caught my attention. I liked the pots so much, I got one to use as a pen pot!



One thing I particularly adored were the hand-written price labels placed around the shop. The handwriting has character and the labels acknowledge those who created each piece (which I feel is something you should know before purchasing). 

This specific label stood out to me because of the personal touch - I love it! I had noticed that Nanny Eileen had also crocheted a selection of lovely shawls that had a very professional finish to them.

I am exceptionally fond of this photograph, as it captures the moment I discovered my favourite print by Gemma. The animals are so whimsical and I have always loved grey and yellow together! Now I'm home I need to get it framed which I am hoping to get done soon.

In a tall, glass display cabinet to the right of the shop is a selection of handmade jewellery. These three photos show just a handful of the pretty items on display.

Whether they are dangling from the ceiling or lined up on the windowsill, everywhere you look, there is something interesting to observe. The fabric lanterns are particularly nice!





I hope I have tempted you to pay the Charlestown Gallery a visit. There are plenty of gifts, home wares, prints, and stationary items to look through and I'm pretty sure you will find something you will want to keep!

I would highly recommend you pay Gemma's blog and online shop a visit to keep up to date with new pieces she has to offer:




Overall, my trip to Cornwall was lovely, and writing this feature has helped me to preserve the memory of one of my favourite places during this trip. 

Let me know what you think of the items on display, I would love to hear your opinions! 

Keep watching this space.
Zoe..x



Photography by Declan Rollings 

With thanks to Gemma Austen of Gemma Austen's Art

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